Michael Edward (Picture: Vicky Pearson) |
Taking place on April 28 across four venues in Liverpool's docklands, Wrong has firmly secured its place on the festival circuit.
But unlike many of the leading festival bosses across the UK, head honcho Michael Edward is no stranger to the city's music, or it's people.
Whether it's performing on stage with his band Elevant, working away on Wrong or being in charge of Loner Noise, Michael is very much part of the growing plethora of people working to keep Liverpool music alive and part of the cultural map.
"We put a lot of stuff in this sort of scene out on Loner Records - left of centre rock bands, something a bit darker, stranger and heavier than your average bear.
"I felt that there really wasn't much of a focal point for the group of bands in that scene, so I decided to put on - what was supposed to be an all dayer - with maybe one or two bigger bands, plus the label's bands, then it kind of spiraled out of control into something more full blown," says Michael
Described as outing the 'burgeoning local and UK-wide Freakscene' Wrong, sold out the first wave of Super Early Bird tickets last November with artists such as Future of the Left, Damo Suzuki, Mugstar and Kagoule all confirmed for the Baltic takeover.
As well as supporting established acts, Michael makes sure he stays on top of what's hot for Wrong: "Often I'll pick bands I know from touring or just from my iPod,"
"There isn't a submissions process since it's mostly just me doing the picking, and I'd get completely swamped if there was.
"That said, in downtime I do try to listen to what people send me so I'm up to speed on what's going on.
"This year people can expect a mix of the finest up and comers from the freakscene, some real legends like Future of the Left and Damo Suzuki of Can - I can't believe Damo is playing!"
The line-up can make or break any festival but if the venue's not right, there's an even bigger issue.
— WRONG Festival (@WRONGfest) April 4, 2018Michael's love of Liverpool is strong and feverish, supporting venues such as The Invisible Wind Factory and Drop the Dumbulls - he makes sure he supports those dear with Wrong, choosing the locations that will convey Wrong's DIY message, "The Invisible Wind Factory, may she reign supreme, is run by the wonderful team behind the dearly departed Kazimier, and always has something special going on," says Michael
"The North Shore Troubadour is a wonderful oddity, and Drop the Dumbulls is everything that's right with the DIY spirit, run by people who live there, completely welcoming and lovely, and into some weird stuff,
"Maybe with the current venue situation we do need to move outside the city centre, we're out in the docklands just because that's where these wonderful venues are.
"It'd be nice if the council wasn't trying to turn the city centre into one massive block of student flats because getting people to come out of the centre for anything less than a big show like this is a real pain.
"Hopefully the new noise legislation that protects pre-existing venues will help."
So, what would Michael like his legacy to be?
"I'd like people to have had fun at Wrong Festival, and I'd like for it to have been a positive influence on the careers of the bands who've played it, and for it to have elevated the awareness of the scene."
Tickets are still available for Wrong festival here: wrongfestival.com
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